Healthy Lifestyle

Have a bucket list? Don’t yet, but want to make one? You must add, “Hiking Yosemite” to that list.

Before Christmas last year, I decided I was going to make 2017 the year of being unafraid. In that blog post I mentioned, “I have been afraid of heights my entire life, so we are entering the lottery to hike Half Dome.” We convinced my brother, JJ, to enter the lottery with us as well. We all got pretty excited about the possibility, and for Christmas, he bought me this book, One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome.

I entered us in the lottery when the time period opened up, and shortly after the cutoff (on March 31, 2017), we got an email saying that we were not selected in the lottery.

Like a stab to the heart.

I messaged my brother to tell him the news. He thought I was joking…..”ha ha, good one, punked, right?”

But no, I was not joking. Of all the dates we gave as options (all of which, by the way, were during the week so we would have a greater chance of getting selected), we did not get selected.

This tells you, and told us one main thing – it’s a huge feat to accomplish Yosemite’s Half Dome, but maybe even more than that, hiking Yosemite is highly sought after.

Hiking Yosemite

We told my brother to still book his flight and come out. We would hike Yosemite – some piece of it – for Ryan’s birthday on Friday, July 28.

We left around 7 am that morning without much of a plan. The only thing we knew was that we would have about 5-6 hours to hike, and we wanted to climb as much as possible during that time.

Upon arriving (just a couple hours later – we are literally 1-3 hours from every single incredible thing California has to offer!) we made a pit stop to ask advice on what trail to do.

Based on what we were looking for and the time we had available, Glacier Point is what they recommended. Both Ryan and JJ had looked that hike up prior to going, and it was one they were interested in any way.

We did the Four Mile Trail, which is 4.8 miles (7.7 km) one-way. The park says each way takes approximately 3 to 4 hours to complete. As I mentioned, we did it in about 2-2.5 hours each way.

The climb is around 3k feet in elevation, and even though that’s “only” the amount of elevation I climbed at the Bear Creek Half Marathon last weekend, the 3k climb to Glacier Point was much more intense. Why? Because we climbed that much in less than half the distance of the half marathon.

Essentially, once you start the incline climb at Glacier Point, you are going straight up for most of the walk. The heart rate gets ridiculous but with the increase in heart rate and elevation also comes the increase in stunning views.

We climbed and climbed, and did switchbacks galore (which is the worst part for me – in both hiking, trail running, and driving), but eventually, we made it to the first main stop and lookout point.

And it was stunning.

By this time, we were all pretty tired already, but had come so far and could not wait to hit the top.

So we kept on going.

During that last hike to the top, a man stopped us and said, “Hey, I don’t want to alarm you guys, but right ahead, on your right is a Rattlesnake. He doesn’t seem vicious, but wanted to let you know he’s there.”

Heart. Stop. Immediately.

There it was, my #1 fear. JJ looked at me and smiled.

We kept going, but a few steps ahead and it had already retrieved to a hole because these 2 kids were trying to get at it. (I mean, for real? It’s a Rattlesnake! Why on God’s green Earth do you want to try to see and entertain it? I. Just. Can’t.) Anyways, JJ dropped a Google marker on his phone so we would know the spot when we came back down the hill. We never did see it, and funny thing – just like the Bear Creek Trail Race last weekend – you don’t actually need to mark where a Rattlesnake is at. Truth is – they are everywhere. These places we seek adventure are their homes. Onwards….)

Shortly before reaching the top, we all started craving weird foods and drinks. We were hungry and thirsty like crazy. Go figure! I wanted soda (yes, seriously – I have a soda like quarter to never, but my body needed fizz), and that was not normal. They wanted tons of trail mix.

And then it happened. We reached the top!

At the top of Glacier Point, there is a store and tourist area (if you don’t want to hike it, you can take a bus up to see the views). We grabbed food and drinks, then went to sit and enjoy every last thing about the views.

Pictures can never do these views justice. During our hike, I commented on this aspect to Ryan and JJ. I told them that that’s why I could never be a landscape photographer. While I feel like people and food photography can be very descriptive and depictive, I never feel like images from views like this are able to tell the full story. It’s just impossible.

I sat up there, overlooking what seemed like the world and all I could think was,

God made everything so incredible, so beautiful, but my fear has hindered me from enjoying creation for years.

And then of course, “Now I get it. This is just the beginning.” (Side note: If you read Brazen Trail Racing, I felt this same thing all over again.)

Eventually, we hiked back down. If you want the truth, the hike down is far worse than the hike up. It’s steep, and it was the downhill, not uphill, that left my legs aching like crazy the rest of the night.

Once we reached the bottom, we enjoyed our walk back to the car. JJ had gotten a water filter, so he tested that out.

Ryan took pictures of me so he could get this man in the background to highlight the true beauty of hiking Yosemite 🙂

And when it was over, all I could think was, “When can we do it again?!”

If we had more time (or the next time we go), I think we’ll do The Panorama Trail, which provides a close-up view of Illilouette Fall and panoramic views of eastern Yosemite Valley before joining the Mist or John Muir Trails down past Vernal and Nevada Falls. That hike is about double what we did – 8.5 miles one-way.

Finally, I thought I’d share a few practical things for hiking Yosemite.

Bring along a change of clothes for immediately after the actual hike. I recently found out about this amazing company, Ridgemont. The idea behind Ridgemont Outfitters is that people often find themselves going straight from hiking/being outdoors to an urban setting, so they wanted to create a shoe that was versatile enough that people would be able to transition from outdoor to urban without feeling weird in their bulky hiking boot. The company sent me their Monty Loe Shoe in the Sage/Lichen color. I am so hooked. In addition to the shoes, shirts, pants of some sort, and new bra for the ladies (sweat, man, sweat).

Don’t forget tons of water. The 3 of us went through so much water on the way up.

Carry a light backpack. Both Ryan and JJ carried one with various things, namely food and water.

Do the hike as early in the morning as possible or wait until later. The middle of the day was hot, hot, hot, and we wished we could have started earlier.

Bring a camera (or just your phone). Even though pictures can’t capture the true scene, you’ll want to be able to capture everything you can.

Mentally be prepared that it’s going to be hard, but do not let that stop you. I cannot tell you the spectrum of people we saw along the trail. Young, old, all weight sizes, everything and everyone. When it got hard, we saw people stopping to eat, drink water, and just rest. There is no race happening, you can go at your own pace.

Just do it. Seriously. Go now (if you live in California) or book a trip for hiking Yosemite ASAP. And p.s. If you want an amazing place in the area to stay, choose Tenaya Lodge. Ryan and I stayed there in 2011, and I have never forgotten how much love I have for that place.

If you enjoy my posts on the gut and/or healing + true wellness with food and lifestyle click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter. If you enjoy my posts on life, inspiration, passion, entrepreneurship, adoption, love, thoughts, faith and living in a way that gives us purpose, daily click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter (a different one). To follow the blog in general, be sure to place it in your feed.

When you take a staple like “gluten” out of your diet, the initial reaction can be, “OhmyGod I will starve!” (Please note, as always: I am NOT an advocate of giving up ANYTHING unless you absolutely need to.) If you do need to give up good old gluten, though, then here are 5 ways I have learned for making gluten free a game.

Because life should be fun.

And not so serious.

When I made the commitment to be gluten free over 7 years ago, I did so with 110% conviction. Once I found myself around the 5 or 6-month mark, I had reached the point of gluten free for me is a fun “game!” This is a game like any other, with a beginning, middle (hunt-and-gather “playing” time) and ultimately the final outcome where I “win” if I’d eat the food(s) again and “lose” if not.

Making Gluten Free a Game

Supermarket/Farmer’s Market/other food market Search. Each time I go into the grocery store I try to buy one new gluten-free product, something I’ve never had before. This does not mean I’m always out to find a new cookie or processed food. Most often it means a new fruit, vegetable or beverage. The supermarket search is really fun in stores that clearly have products labeled with the gluten-free tag. You can do this at any supermarket, Farmer’s Market and/or any other place you find food. One year I did it with Moringa, and I never looked back!

Google Maps. Do you have this app on your iPhone? Of course, you do. The next time you are out and about (preferably somewhere you typically don’t find yourself) go to Google Maps and put ‘Gluten Free’ in the search bar. You may be taken to a restaurant or a specific store where gluten-free product is. I have done this locally, and have stumbled upon new things (for example, I did it once, and up popped Blaze Pizza, which carries a gluten-free crust).

Foursquare, Yelp (+ many other location-based applications). If you have any of these apps on your iPhone, use them for your gluten-free game! Not only are you sure to find gluten-free food while out and about, but many times people will leave tips at those places to help you decide. For example, I did this with the Organic Plant Cafe the day I found Kombucha. The “tips” told me what to eat there and what to drink (Kombucha), noting that both were gluten free. I have been back several times now, and it’s truly one of my most favorite spots in San Francisco.

Find a New Blog. If you are reading this, you are probably already ahead of this one. If not, go to Google and search, “Gluten Free Blogs.” Add them to your Google Reader, bookmark them, or save them via another service like Bloglovin’. You will get a ton of great ideas, and it will resemble a “hunt” for your new favorite blog. Many a moon ago, it’s how I first discovered Celiac and the Beast (who is a friend now).

Recipe. Make your own recipe and wait to see what happens. Remember, this is a game! Use a cookbook or better yet, don’t use a cookbook and see what you come up with. The way I tend to do this is to make a list of the things I’m interested in for the cooked or baked item (you may need to cross check to see if it’s gluten free). Then, I start playing with different ideas and ways to make those ingredients come to life. Need some ideas to get the creative wheels spinning? Check out the latest gluten free recipe roundup.

Trust me, I do understand that going gluten free can seem hard and overwhelming in the beginning.

If you enjoy my posts on the gut and/or healing + true wellness with food and lifestyle click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter. If you enjoy my posts on life, inspiration, passion, entrepreneurship, adoption, love, thoughts, faith and living in a way that gives us purpose, daily click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter (a different one). To follow the blog in general, be sure to place it in your feed.

It happened again, even after I, once again, told myself it was not going to happen. I didn’t decorate the house for spring or summer. There, I said it.

I was so excited for spring and summer to come along and to do all the decorating, but another year passed where I fell flat on my face.

Each year in August I can hardly stand the wait until the day I can let it be fall to pull all fall decorations out. In fact, each year that fall decorating day gets earlier and earlier. It used to be done Labor Day weekend. Last year it was in late August. This year? I’m making no promises because as I was thinking about this whole seasons and decorating post, I felt like a school girl just waiting to scream with excitement and do it now. Like as in today, or this weekend, or at the very least in a week or two. Send help.

And then each year around Thanksgiving, I’m itching to get out all the Christmas decorations. I really love Thanksgiving and I never skip over it, but the weekend following Thanksgiving Thursday, fall comes down and Christmas and holiday go up. That day of decorating is also a super lovely day. Ceci did it with me last year, and I will never forget that day or any of the days in year’s past of Christmas decorating.

Putting up both fall and Christmas decorations is an event. Truly. It goes like this. We make a warm beverage of sorts – usually a massive cup of coffee, latte, or maybe even a spiked drink. Ryan gets out our bins of (whatever season it is) decorations. I lay them all out on the floor and on the counters so I remember what I have to work with. We crank the country jams up, and place all the goodies strategically throughout the house, mostly on the first floor and in the kitchen + living room areas.

It’s an all-day event that usually ends with me heading to the store to grab a few new things, cleaning up, and then settling into the cozy look I love.

They are such happy days, those days of fall and Christmas decorating.

Immediately after Christmas, I take all holiday stuff down. I clean, minimize, and then tell myself a simple winter scene followed by lovely spring items, and summer to round out the year of decorating is exactly what I’ll do.

But not this year, nor any other prior year has it happened.

I’m over it.

I have given in and given up on caring so much about pushing for loving the deep of winter, spring, and summer decorating like I do fall and Christmas.

Let It Be Fall

On Tuesday after work, I was out walking with the kids. Samarah had her meet ‘n greet night at preschool and Ryan was traveling, so I took all the kids out for a long walk and then to Sam’s school. It’s still miserably hot here in the California valley, and as I was sweating, all I could think about was – let it be fall – and how I enjoy the California summer less and less each year, which turned into all these thoughts about decorating (or lack thereof).

Those thoughts turned to life. (And no, you wouldn’t want to live in my mind for one day. Even the decorating thoughts turn to life.)

How many times do we push and push and push to try and love spring and summer decorating when we never have and likely never will?

For me?

I did it with yoga. I’ve tried a million times “because I should,” but I don’t.

I’ve done it with friends. Thought I could develop something real and meaningful, but it was not there.

I did it with relationships prior to Ryan. “Maybe if I just tried harder…..” and fell flat.

I’ve done it with seasons of life, knowing I should feel thankful and pushing myself to feel all the feels when I just would never get there.

Straight out of college, I did it with my career. Wear the ‘hose, dress the part, climb the ladders…..corporate America is where it’s at. But that was not my life’s purpose.

No matter how hard we try, an apple will never be a piece of chocolate cake. The elephant can never make a dollar out of fifteen cents. Spring decorating will never be fall decorating. The hot, summer days can never be Christmas.

And guess what? I have now come to realize that this is all perfectly okay.

Sometimes all we need is fifteen cents, and other times we should eat the chocolate cake because the apple can never fill the same needs.

It doesn’t matter if you are a fall, winter, spring, or summer person.

What matters is that you run with exactly who and what you are, in this season of life, and forget about a mold you should never try to morph into.

And for the love…..let it be fall.

p.s. If you see a blog post soon about how I decorated my house for fall (soon – like before September 1) please don’t judge. And if you feel me on this post, then you too should just let it be fall.

If you enjoy my posts on the gut and/or healing + true wellness with food and lifestyle click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter. If you enjoy my posts on life, inspiration, passion, entrepreneurship, adoption, love, thoughts, faith and living in a way that gives us purpose, daily click HERE to subscribe to my e-newsletter (a different one). To follow the blog in general, be sure to place it in your feed.

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Hello, I'm Sarah

My name is Sarah Kay Hoffman. I am a child of God who has an amazing husband + 3 little ones I get to call my own. My goal is to inspire through the road I've traveled, and stories I tell. Thank you for joining this journey.